Tang Long had chosen Iniesta as his training dummy for a reason.
Compared to Pirlo, Xavi, and Beckham, who excelled at precise long passes, Iniesta's passing was all about short passes and through balls.
After analyzing his position at Inter Milan, Tang Long figured that if he got to play, he'd be more likely to take on a supporting role.
Unlike his teammate Kovacic, who could use long passes to orchestrate the midfield.
Inside the AI Cloud Training Ground, Iniesta wore a blank expression, like an emotionless robot, as he began training Tang Long in short passing.
"Your basic passing skills need improvement. Follow me, and we'll start with the most fundamental drills!"
Iniesta and Tang Long kept about ten meters apart as they jogged forward side by side.
They passed the ball back and forth with one touch, without stopping it.
"Thud, thud, thud—"
"Thud, thud, thud—"
The only sound echoing across the empty training ground was the ball being passed.
This was one of the most basic drills for professional players, emphasizing the need to stay connected with a teammate while moving forward.
Tang Long had done this drill countless times as a boy.
But even so, he made a few mistakes in the Cloud Training Ground.
Sometimes, he misjudged the force of his touch and sent the ball too far for Iniesta to reach.
Sometimes, he failed to lead Iniesta enough with his pass, sending it behind him as he ran.
And sometimes, the ball didn't stay close to the ground and bounced up!
That meant Tang Long hadn't struck it cleanly.
It might have been a simple passing drill, but it exposed how much Tang Long's football fundamentals still needed work.
Every time Tang Long made a mistake, his training dummy, Iniesta, would stop and offer him guidance.
He even demonstrated the right posture for passing in slow motion.
"Tang, don't lock your ankle too rigidly. You're passing, not shooting.
That's it. Relax a little, and don't lean so far forward!"
Watching a key player from Barca's Dream Team III coach him like a youth-team trainer, Tang Long felt a little dazed. It was like a dream~
This was way too good!
Way!
Too good!
After that, the two began practicing passes while running and crossing over to switch positions.
The drills grew steadily harder, with irregular changes of pace added to the crossover runs.
When Tang Long opened his eyes again,
it was already eleven thirty at night.
The table he'd just tidied had been bathed in the gentle sunlight of a Mediterranean winter.
Now the room was pitch-black.
Tang Long got up and turned on the light, then thought back over the five-hour passing session he'd just completed.
There was no doubt about it: Iniesta truly lived up to his reputation as one of the world's greatest passers!
He hadn't made a single mistake during their training. He'd even saved Tang Long's errant passes countless times.
And as Tang Long worked with the Spanish midfielder, he'd noticed a lot of problems in his own game, such as his poor posture when passing.
These were issues that had never been corrected during Tang Long's previous training!
"Ding!"
"Congratulations, host! You have completed your first session of [AI Smart Cloud Training]!"
"Training partner: Iniesta!"
Wearing black-rimmed glasses and dressed like a teacher, Iniesta appeared in front of the projector with a pen in his hand.
He pointed at the large PPT screen!
It showed that Tang Long had completed 6,282 passes during the five-hour session.
It also listed the weaknesses in Tang Long's passing and offered suggestions for improving them.
"Training score: 6.5. I look forward to seeing you at our next session. Bye-bye!"
With the same blank expression as a robot, Iniesta waved goodbye to Tang Long.
"Ding!"
"Passing stat increased!"
"Short Passing: 54–55!"
It was only a one-point increase.
But Tang Long was still full of anticipation for this kind of AI Cloud Training.
Having a world superstar as your training partner was the kind of thing you could only fantasize about in a game.
And there was one more thing: even after five hours of training,
Tang Long wasn't tired at all!
Normally, two hours of training would have drained all his stamina.
That was the biggest advantage of Cloud Training—
it restored stamina, improved abilities, and wasn't restricted by space or time!
If he could improve by at least one point a day, that would mean a hundred points in a hundred days. And with AI analyzing and evaluating all the data from his matches in real time, Tang Long felt a surge of confidence about his future at Inter Milan!
It was already midnight.
Tang Long looked out the window. In the training complex, which looked like a forest, the tall oaks rustled in the night breeze.
The moonlight was cold.
In the Mediterranean winter, the bright sunshine faded at night, and the cold still had a bite to it.
Tang Long was just about to close the window when a head suddenly poked inside!
"Holy shit!"
Startled, Tang Long jumped back and let out a curse.
He took a closer look. It was Bonazzoli!
Bonazzoli stood outside the window, grinning at Tang Long inside the house.
"Bonazzoli, what are you doing?"
"My dearest Tang, wanna go out?"
"Go out for what?"
"To a nightclub to meet some blondes!"
Bonazzoli was seventeen, a year younger than Tang Long.
He'd been promoted from the youth team to the first team at the start of the season.
Unlike Tang Long, though, Bonazzoli hadn't signed a professional contract with the first team.
His registration was still with the youth team, and he was often moved back and forth between the youth and first teams.
It was only in the past two months that he'd settled in with the first team and moved into the dormitory they'd prepared for him.
Bonazzoli and Tang Long hadn't interacted much in the youth team.
But he was a friendly guy, warm to everyone and always ready to liven things up.
Tang Long's arrival had almost brought Bonazzoli to tears with excitement!
At last, I've got someone to hang out with!
Before this, he'd been the only player living at the training complex at night, aside from a few staff members on duty.
He couldn't help it. He didn't have much money, and his youth-team contract paid a flat €50,000 a year.
That might get you a rental in Milan, but there'd be nothing left for taking girls to nightclubs!
It wasn't worth it. Bonazzoli was good with numbers.
"Now that you're here, I won't be bored at night anymore. Let's climb over the wall and go out, Tang!"
Bonazzoli didn't wait for an answer. He climbed through the window, grabbed Tang Long, and started dragging him toward the door.
"I'm not going. I'm watching football."
Tang Long pointed to the laptop on the table.
It was playing the second round of the 2011–12 Serie A season: Juventus versus Chievo.
"Watching football? What's there to watch? I'm taking you to a nightclub to watch some balls too—balls bigger than footballs! Come on!"
"It's so late. Aren't you worried you'll break a leg climbing over the wall? Be careful."
"Are you really eighteen? Why are you acting like some stuffy old man in his thirties or forties? Don't you like Italian women?"
"No. Go if you want. I really need to watch this match."
Tang Long paused, then teased him. "The girls have already worn you out. Do you still want to sign a first-team contract?"
That hit Bonazzoli right where it hurt!
He was supposed to be a rising star among Italy's young forwards!
The leading striker for his generation of Italy's youth national team.
But he'd been with the first team for half a year and still hadn't signed a first-team contract.
Meanwhile, Tang Long had arrived only a few days ago and already beaten him to it!
Feeling that Tang Long had got one over on him, Bonazzoli pretended to throw a punch, then cursed as he climbed back out the window.
Before he left, he made sure to deliberately plant a foot on the snow-white wall.
Tang Long smiled helplessly.
He went back to his desk and started watching the match recording.
Ever since he'd completed the task of watching 1,000 match recordings,
the system had assigned him another task: watch 500 complete matches.
This time, though, Tang Long's choices were more deliberate.
He decided to watch 500 Serie A matches.
After all, Serie A had a different style from other leagues and international cup competitions.
At half past two in the morning,
Bonazzoli returned to the training complex, drunk and unsteady.
As he stumbled past Tang Long's dorm, he noticed that the light was still on.
Reeking of alcohol, he muttered,
"This, this guy must be crazy. He doesn't like Italian girls, he just, just likes watching matches. Crazy. Hic~ Yeah, crazy. He's a total lunatic!"
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